Willis thriller balances cliches, grit

Gunplay, runaway bus mayhem merge with decent drama

Robert Denerstein, Rocky Mountain News

Published March 3, 2006 at midnight

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We've seen it before. A big-city detective seems to be drowning in an ocean of whiskey, cynicism and fatigue. He no longer pays much attention to personal hygiene. He's clearly out of shape, and he's pretty much lost faith in himself and everyone else.

We've seen it before, but in 16 Blocks, Bruce Willis adds a downtrodden sense of fatalism to a familiar role. Willis trades his customary wisecracks for a heavy dose of spiritual exhaustion, and, in the process, reminds us that he can have real acting game.

Here's the setup: Willis' Jack Mosley, a guy who has difficulty making it past a bottle of Canadian Club, finds himself at the end of another wasted shift when he's assigned to transport a prisoner (Mos Def) to court. Def's Eddie Bunker is scheduled to testify in a police corruption case.

As directed by Richard Donner, best known for his Lethal Weapon movies, 16 Blocks is well-acted and just grungy enough to subvert its formulaic tendencies. The movie sometimes seems suspended between hard-core drama and bone-jarring action, but manages to score a small victory nonetheless.

Following in the footsteps of many thrillers, 16 Blocks springs from contrivance. A group of corrupt cops wants to stop Jack from transporting his prisoner to a Manhattan courthouse, a journey of (you guessed it) 16 blocks. To further heighten the tension, Jack must accomplish his mission by 10 a.m. or the grand jury hearing the case will be dismissed.

Although the movie includes a runaway bus and plenty of gunplay, Donner balances the mayhem with some decent drama, moments augmented by a strong cast. The leader of the corrupt cops (a frighteningly convincing David Morse) orders his cronies to stop Jack's progress, even if it means killing him.

Meanwhile, Jack races around the city with Def's Eddie Bunker, ducking into back alleys, knocking on doors in Chinatown, all the while battling a bum leg and a monstrous hangover.

Willis and Def add to the screen's already massive supply of odd couples. Willis' slouching posture, paunch and unshaven face support an emotional minimalism that plays well against Def's incessant chatter.

Def, who speaks with a strange, mumbling Ratso Rizzo accent, provides a loquacious counterpoint to Willis' stoicism. Def's Eddie Bunker has a police record, but aspires to start a business. He wants to bake birthday cakes for children, and he's always telling a dubious Jack that people can change.

Def's performance can get on your nerves, and he's sometimes too deferential to Willis' character, but overall, he manages a few laughs and enough seriousness to remind us that his character is not quite as dopey as he sometimes appears.

Occasional splashes of grit help us overlook the script's tendency to traffic in cliches, and 16 Blocks emerges from the seasonal shadows to provide a fair measure of entertainment.

It's possible that Donner should have tightened the movie, which feels longer than its 101 minutes, and - like its worn-out hero - tends to sag around the middle. He also could have dispensed with the movie's feel-good epilogue. Still, this isn't the worst 16 blocks you'll ever travel, and a good cast helps make the journey seem almost credible.

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